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Welcome to the new NHL. Luck + great goaltending = win games. Nice plays, skating, hitting, great passing and getting SOG mean nothing anymore. Just look at the 2 games against TO, the Sabres game, and even the Calgary game for that matter. We could have won all 4 of those games but we got zero breaks and only avg goaltending. Miller, Reimer, Kipper, and tonight the big kid in nets for Florida all played great or stood on thier heads even though we offered up 30-40 shots each game and had great chances to score. On the other hand their team shoots and it bounces in, or deflects off something or finds the tiniest of holes in our goalies armour and it’s a goal. I feel for the players right now because they do deserve better. I don’t however feel sorry for the sullen, ego maniacal JM, or PG. Isn’t it about time for one of the goats famous temper tantrums; ie “Who ate the last cookie, wah wah?” Fire them both. PG made colossal errors in the offseason. Not re-signing Hammer. Bringing back Gomez. Not signing the Wiz and instead signing Markov. These are unforgivable mistakes. Last year it was not giving Moore the money he deserved, letting SK slip away for NOTHING. So many mistakes. Grabovski is another one who we mishandled. The list of errors is remarkable. Can these dough heads now and get some present day hockey minds in there. If I hear one more person say Roy isn’t the right fit for coach or GM I’m gonna……………..puke!!!!!!!!!!

Time to get Rene Bourque. What are you waiting for Gauthier? You want a tough s.o.b. who can score then he’s your man and he doesn’t take long to defend his players and is the first to drop the gloves and actually wins. Go get him.

It was bound to happen one year. No team plans to fall flat.
The habs have overachieved for a number of years now. They have had super goal tending the last couple of years, but not this year so far.No point in making any changes,play the youth and be open to cache in on a desperate team or two at the deadline.Who pays players hurt like Markov? Is there insurance? If not this was not a smart move although one player is not going to change anything.

The sky is officially falling! The panic button has officially been pressed!
What is most distressing is that there is still 70 plus games left and it would be naive to think that we have bottomed out given the schedule for the rest of the week let alone the season.

I don’t know who the problem is but at this point I would start by canning JM…. In this instance I am convinced that there is virtue in change for the sake of change… Let’s face it – any replacement would be hard-pressed to do any worse at this point.

I honestly didn’t think that the boys could be this ineffective… watching the games this year has been special torture…. it’s frustrating that for all intents and purposes the season has ended before it ever really got underway…. let’s not sugarcoat things, the odds of us making the playoffs following this start are extremely thin regardless of any changes that may be in the pipeline.

I want to be optimistic but there is little reason for optimism given the way things have transpired to date…

I wish that I could have at least watched the boys on L’antichambre bitch for a while – that may have offered somethinfg of an outlet… stupid World Series.

JM: “I lost my notepad. I think I dropped it somewhere in the locker room.”

PG: “Did you guys play tonight?”

JM: “Ya. Look, ah, can I get another notepad, or, uh how does the, ‘er, budget look?”

PG: “Look Jacques, after we broke the bank with your Starbucks cards as incentive to score winning goals, we’re actually a little over budget. And by the way, the Keg is out of the question for a Christmas party. You guys know we get free subs at Subway, right?”

JM: “I appreciate the heads up, Pierre.”

PG: “How did your game go, anyway?”

JM: “Not bad. A real CHESS MATCH. Is what I heard them calling it in the media. Exciting stuff.”

PG: “Sounds great!!! I wish I was there! Did you win?”

JM: (cough) “Yaaa-no.”

PG: “Uh oh.”

JM: “Just let that one squeek by – a 2-1 finish tonight, Pierre. But we did a lot of things really well.”

PG: “Hmm, what should we do?”

JM: “I don’t know. What about if we gave Alex Auld a call?”

PG: “Who?”

JM: “You know, the big, bald guy.”

PG: “Ah ya, I really liked his bald spot. Probably the best bald spot in the league. Ya, give him a call.”

JM: “I think he’ll be a real help on the power play. We’ve been really struggling there you know.”

PG: “Really, I had no idea. Ok, go get Auld and that should put us back in, uh, what place are we in again?”

JM: “Ah, cell phone battery’s about to go – I’ll get back to you on that one.”

Sadly, our franchise is in the toilet. The last thing we need is more “knee jerk” moves to try to salvage something out of 2011-12. We have a 0.0% chance of winning the Cup this year.

We need a caretaker coach for the rest of this season, then a real new coach for next year. Same with the GM.

Any moves we make should be designed with 2013 in mind. Throw away this season, and use next season as a time to shed all of the horrible contracts we have left.

I’ll keep Price, Eller, Subban, MaxPac…The rest will be gone by the time we have a realistic chance at a Cup.

The problem is that we bungle along with the drunken delusion that we are a player or two away from having a puncher’s chance at the Cup. That is completely false, and it is killing our hopes of actually building a great team.

No great team ever comes from desperation trades, bloated contracts, and pipe dream gambles. Time to bite the bullet, get some competent smart dedicated modern thinkers in charge, and let them get to work building a model NHL franchise, instead of the abject crap we get year after year.

I’d like to see some veteran players and assets moved for 1st round picks this year. The draft looks deep so far, and I think accepting the need to start building and get going would do wonders, and get us out of this faster than we might think. It’s time to cut our losses though, a good manager should run the team like a business. Escalating investment is never a good thing, realize it and move on.

Ha ha ha. LMAO! Move some veteran players for first round draft picks? Surely you jest. Which veteran player(s) play for the Habs that would fetch a first round pick? Spacek? Moen? AK? one of the wee fellows? Gomez????

I suppose we might have been able to convince the Laffs to give up theirs, but alas, they’ve traded all their first round picks for the next decade to the Bruins.

Yes !! I agree completely. Maybe some forwards who carry the play into opposing zone. I hate the dump-ins……. it has it’s value to keep teams guessing but use sparingly please.. Please find the team some playmakers. No more band – aids. Habs forever !!

Mr. Lemaire did really well as a coach in Montreal, but resigned because, he said, of the suffocating media and its constant demands. There is little chance he would return, if anything the media pressure is even greater now.

There is no way that any team should endeavour to finish last for some draft pick.

This is for people who think that winning a Stanley Cup is the absolute, ultimate goal, and that any, ANY means justify that end. These people also fail to realize that once the Cup has been won, it has to be done again the following year. Then the year after that.

So what is it, what’s the strategy? Tank every three or four years? Finish last overall every five years?

I would much rather support a team who consistently puts out a quality lineup. Like the Habs have done in the past years. Like Philly. Like Buffalo. Like the Rangers (when they weren’t buying a team). If we get good, we do so honestly. If we suck, we suck honestly.

I’ll leave the ‘tanking’ talk to the people who think one Stanley Cup will satisfy them and will wipe away all the crud of watching your team become a laughingstock.

See, I’d love to see the team win the Cup, without a doubt. The downside is, it’s a crapshoot at best to see it happen multiple times as many here expect. The salary cap dictates that, so you’ll never see a dynasty ever again.
Case in point, look at Chicago.

It’s the inevitable weight of destiny that has finally overwhelmed the Habs organization. 1 tank every 10 years is about right.

Your post shows you haven’t been doing your homework and have been playing video games instead of studying.

Tanking is not about trying to finish last.

My contention has always been that when a team is out of the play-off hunt it is fruitless to squander assets on trying to make 8th spot, especially when it comes up short (no pun intended) and misses the play-offs altogether.

This year the Habs have no hope in hell of winning the Cup. They have little hope if any of making the play-offs. They are easily 3 years away from contending. It’s better to rebuild now because that is what is happening.

You can wait for a turn around all you want because it wont happen. Not this year at any rate. Certainly not without a mortgaging of the future and a devastating loss to the franchise for years to come.

When we scored in the first period, I figured we had probably used up our goal allowance for the game. It seems that when we score a bunch of goals one game, we can’t score the next. Which means we’ll likely score 4 against Philly and still lose…. Things could not be more depressing. My immediate reaction after a game is to want to scream and smash something. I guess I’ll eventually reach a point where I just expect a loss.

I’m already there, even last game against the Leafs I was excited that they got a point.

For the positives: Eller is playing the best hockey I have seen him play. He is playing with an arrogant swagger and I await his next shift. Kostitsyn looks like he feels very comfortable out there and their line seems like it is our 1st line.

Cammy and Gio are under performing. I feel that Cammy may be too hurt to play and should perhaps just take the days off to rest.

anyways, it will be a long season and for all of you who want to fire Martin, he will be here the whole season. It’s just the way the habs roll and have been rolling since 1995.

Agree about Eller and Kostitsyn. Eller for Halak may well turn out to have been a stroke of genius.

I’m not really on the fire JM bandwagon, mainly because I don’t see anyone at all out there to replace him. But I hope Geoff Molson is looking long and hard for a new coach and GM. The mess Gauthier created this summer, even though a lot of it wasn’t his fault, means he should go. But panic moves are nearly always a mistake. The Habs need to make sure they know who they want and then go out and get those people. The season is doomed anyway, so what’s the hurry?

If the HIO servers don’t crash, we will soon be swamped by howling posters demanding Jacques Martin on a platter and for Pierre Gauthier to be burned at the stake. I still think it’s much too early in the season to panic and will accentuate the positive.

First off, it was a boon to the team that the Matt Bradley hit did not cause David Desharnais to end up in the morgue.

Also, while watching the pre-game interview with Travis Moen on RDS, I was quite taken by the vibrant hues on his jersey. I’m not sure if it’s the texture of the material or if the designers monkeyed with the colour palette, but I found the blue stripe had an electric quality to it, it positively shimmered, so that the classic red, and crisp, brilliant white stripes were amplified.

A clear upgrade can be found over last year in the replacement of Benoit Brunet with Marc Denis. Mr. Denis is decisive without being hurried, is clear and informative, and works well in his pairing with Mr. Houde. We can look forward to this combination clicking for many years.

I also thought the picture quality on RDS was especially good tonight, and kudos to Rogers for not losing my feed. My Club Soda was fizzy and delicious, and I enjoyed some wonderful chicken strips with hot sauce compliments of President’s Choice.

Also positive was the camera work, with many long, poignant close-ups on JM near the end of the latest loss: they were evocative and the silence from the commentators during the zoom in was a really nice touch.

Sad just sad. Don’t understand the booing of PK. He actually is one who tries. Eller’s line impressed again. Martin was Martin. Cammi on the PK? awesome. Philly and Boston back to back, it will hit 9 in a row. I just hope they don’t trade any young prospects for a stop gap player. Keep the youth and prospects. Fire sale as much as possible. Gomez,Gill, Jaro, Moen, Weber, Gorges can all be sent packing and get as much as possible.Yes that will probably put them near the bottom but so what they will probably finish tenth or so may as well go lower and get a better draft pick. Can PG and JM. Let Cunneyworth run the team until the end of the season and then find a permanent coach. DD is too small and slow.

I am not a big fan of Martin, but there is plenty of blame to go around. I think PG should go too. They form a pair, both can walk. Gauthier took a gamble by letting #44 go, and he lost. Gauthier saw the beat down from Boston last season, and he did not put together a real 4th line. Apparently Bob and PG were chatting over a half hour after the game was done.

Yakupov! We need the game-breaking forward and he is the top prospect for this draft negating injury. The kid is just unstoppable and that’s without fellow top prospect Alex Galchenyuk alongside him who is now out for the season.

I don’t care if JM stays or goes but they need to stop trading picks for plugs. I fear they will panic and do everything to try for that elusive 8th spot and end up 20th over-all for all their effort. No matter. They’ll tank harder and longer next season and beyond.

For Geoff Molson to say that he thinks this team can contend for a Stanley Cup either makes him the most disingenuous liar that ever existed or he suffers from mental retardation.

Easy HH, Mr. Molson has not been in place for very long, his stamp has not been put on this team, so it’s too early to place blame at his feet.

He was interviewed on RDS earlier in the pre-season, and he said all the right things. He’s a hockey player himself, and a hockey dad, and is still learning about his new role and this huge investment. In his role, the last thing we need from him is for him to state publicly that we suck. He needs to be optimistic and project confidence for now.

The last thing we need is a trigger-happy Steinbrenneresque owner. I want him to take his time and make the right calls at the right time.

Saw that. We’re both miles apart on the whole inline thing, but pretty close on what management’s response should be to the slowish start of our team. I have 8 game recaps on my blog advocating patience and being sellers at the deadline.

I just think the venom directed at Mr. Molson is premature and off-target. The new coat of paint in his office is barely dry, and I think a lot of fans confuse what his role is. He’s not the coach or GM.

I respect your defense of Geoff Molson but I am not impressed so far with him. If he pulls the same crap this team continually pulled in the late 90’s you’ll know my answer in advance. If he avoids the knee jerk reaction that the fans are screaming for and make actions that speak towards strengthening the team moving forward then I will gladly recant. Right now he is the boss and the buck stops with him.

IMO he needs to make his mark on the team now. And I don’t mean be over-reacting or making a move too hastily to appease the fans.

I don’t grind with my blades. I go out for long skates. Like 25 clicks under 2 hours for a nice slow burn. I wish I could skate board. I tried some tricks once though. My friend tried to show me. He was flipping out because I was landing stuff while wearing my docs. It was the one and only time I ever did sh*t on a board.

But check this out. I am pushing the big 5-0. I always ride my bike. So last night I was heading down Lucien L’Allier and I decided to hang a right on Argyle. I slowed down a bit but was still flying. Bad news as a car was coming my way on Argyle that I only saw at that last instant. So I slammed on the back breaks as I turned and started to skid. My back wheel was spinning around my front tire like a rope around a pole. I was heading for a major wipe out grind my pants into the pavement scene but the pants were new and I was thinking I gotta save the material so I let go of the back break to stop the skid. At that point I was about 40 degrees to the road. The bike just went like an image flipping over its central axis to the other side. So now I was flipping over the bike and into the direction of the oncoming car. No problem. I jumped off the pedals over the bike and landed on my feet like a cat with plenty or time and room to spare. Phew and whatever.

I could have been a pretty good boarder if I actually got around to trying it. My rollerblading has always been power skating for cardio though. That’s why I LMAO when I got called out for wearing fruit boots. The line I used to hear was, “Dave, friends don’t let friends roller blade.” Although my buddy who said that was impressed with me when I opened up my ABEC 3 bearings one day to clean them out and re-lubricate them.

This site sucks nearly as much as the loss. The only consolation after a loss is coming on here and reading everybody’s rants. And I can never get on. I’m refused permission, or an error occurred, or something. It’s long past time HIO got a server that actually works.

I’m reading talk about trades, but who could we trade that anyone would want and that we could give up? With Pacioretty out, our offensive power, already pathetic, diminishes a bit more. And I don’t see the point in getting more defensemen. If Markov and Campoli come back, we’ll have too many as it is. We could pick up Paul Mara, who I think is still available, but I wouldn’t make any trades. Certainly I wouldn’t give away any picks or prospects. Let the kids play, and let the chips fall where they will. If we finish dead last and get Nail Yakupov, it might even be worth it in the long run.

Ok everyone s***s all over Martin and all, but the main thing that drives me batchit crazy is the fact that a line gains the zone, and you can see that they have a shot at possibly getting the puck on net, only to turn away for a change.

Is it too early to say “on the bright side, every loss brings us closer to Nail Yakupov or Ryan Murray”? (for the record, I’d prefer Murray)

The longer it takes to fire Martin, the longer this slide will continue, and the closer one of those two becomes. Although, the chances that PG does something stupid like throwing away draft picks on rentals to save their behinds

Wow, when does the hurting stop, the pain, the pain. Been a Habs for 57 years and have had some bad years of listing on radio and watching the tube but this is getting depressing. One goal a game won’t win anything. I know we have a banged up back end but where is the scoring up front gone. Martin needs to go and a major trade done to shake up this lot. There are some positives but this was Florida, what is going to happen with Phillie and the two games with Boston ?

yes ron you are right-we have no 1st line or 4th line or 3rd or 2nd -how can you play a sport when you don’t know your mates?
martin has to go and maybe we can play hockey-
we are losing anyway-so set up 4 lines and let them play
only good scoring chances happen when PK skates up the ice and shoots-no one in front for the rebound- we have no offence and shoddy defence- make Subban a forward and trade for some defence-i HATE martin and gautier for what they have done to the Canadiens

Changes in the night with mounting losses there’ll be changes in the night!

Old blue eyes

… the fans of the Boston Bruins now have lost forever any right to complain that “the league” is out to get their team, and that the Montreal Canadiens have some kind of pull inside the NHL home office.

I hope ownership acts wisely and not knee-jerk and lets the season pan out with PG, JM and consigliere BG at the helm and if it turns out that the 3 are to be replaced then it is my hope that the replacements are well thought out and planned for the long term and under advice. And not from BG.

If the Habs do tank I believe it will be a good thing for many reasons. The fans will finally get over their 8th place play-off fatigue. We can hope that the organization will forever drop the once you make the play-offs anything can happen mantra and will cease the repetitive squandering of assets in the name of just making the play-offs.

Imagine how depressed you’d all be if you hadn’t taken HH’s Tankology 101 Course. So suck it up. The time to panic would be if the Habs tank two years in a row and draft Alexandre Daigle 2.0 and Doug Wickenheiser 3.1

We can be proud that the last time the Habs were so bad was just prior to Rocket Richard being signed. Let’s get another Rocket and fly to the stars again. I am tired of us wallowing in the mud spinning our wheels to nowhere for so long.

Agreed. Make some calls during the season and research. Fire in the off season. This season is shot anyway. Give them directives to play the rookies and season them up for next year. Emelin, Diaz, Weber and so forth. I just heard if they fire JM not only will he get the salary for his remaining year in his contract, which is normal, but he has a $1.000.000 early termination clause. Imagine, a bonus for getting fired. LOL so hard I ralff in my mouth.

Is the season over yet? Can we bath in the sun, play golf and drink beer and take a holiday. No! Winter is a few weeks away! This is hockey time! The Montreal Canadiens’ need something drastic to wake everyone up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean the players, the coach, goalies, GM, owners, assistants, fans and the public. Media!!!!!! The faith is gone…..Christmas is not even close and this team fails with 100% terrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Sad!!!!!!!!!!!!I shall repeat, 1-5-2, wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Wee Wow!!!!!!Give away the points, Habs, because all you are doing is getting paid and not doing what the money is there for, play HOCKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I watched a game tonight that resembled nothing like a hockey game, or team. All I see is a bunch over overpaid players doing everything themselves. It’s like children playing pond hockey.

No tape to tape passing, Diaz is the defenseman who needs to sit , not Yemelin he was the diresct result of the go ahead goal. He doesn’t know where to be on the ice when the other defensman has the puck.

The players don’t pass they just hang on to the puck or dump it away and then change. Cammy gave away the first goal. Offensive players should never be on the ice killing penalties. I know we have injuries and another tonight with Patches, hope it’s not too serious.

But JM has to go, he doesn’t try to put offensive lines together, Randy Cunneyworth, doesn’t do a damn thing behind the bench only whisper in Jacques ear of maybe he is give him the tongue in the ear. That timeout in the last minute was pathetic.

I think jacques took out his xmas party pad again, with the reference to a free coffee for anyone who would score a goal. No play design just exercising their jaws. I think the whole bench has to go. Get Larry Robinson and Patrick Roy in and see if he can light a fire. At least Roy has a few years under his belt coaching so it won’t be like he is jumping in with eyes closed. Have Larry work with the defense and bring Carbo back to work with the penalty killers and powerplay.

To you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high.

You’d have to be nuts to play this game without a visor. Pronger went down ugly after getting a stick to the face. Reports are he was rushed to hospital and is getting looked at by an eye specialist.

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When the Hebrew scouts investigate the Promised Land of Canaan and return to discourage the other Hebrews from entering it..”We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” [Numbers 13:33]

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.

Well after PHI BOS BOS we have 6 days off, assuming we lose those 3 games, I think JM is done right there. Gives the new coach 6 days to meet the team, and start with an easier game against the Sens.

Problem is, as many have said, there are no good candidates out there. My solution, if we’re going down, we might as well have a laugh or two along the way, Michel Therrien http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agL3NHgb8Rk

I’m not sure what is happening, because I’ve been unhappy with Jacques Martin as head coach from literally the day he was hired – I am sure the archives will bear me out on that – but I’m feeling … what is this feeling … is it pity? I actually feel for the guy.

if he’s fired He has a year left on his contract paid plus a clause that states he gets a million dollar severence pay… thats quite the chunk of change, don’t feel bad for him.
Bergie was saying all that on RDS tonight.
if he or PG are fired i hope we dont stick to the “he has to be bilingual rule” cause the list is getting thin, just hire the right guy for the job dangit.

That rule is not going anywhere, and it’s not a “must be bilingual” rule it’s a “must be francophone” rule, which limits the options even more. So I’m not excited about the prospect of JM leaving. I can just imagine the dud who replaces him …

I actually think we played a good game, but we needed to bury some of those chances. (I know I know, brilliant)
Special teams looks terrible, but Diaz looks good on the PP. I wonder when we’ll see Diaz out with Subban on the PP?

as for JM getting fired… way too soon for that. I expect a trade soon though. I’m guessing Weber or Diaz + AK46 for a Dman.

It’s times like this that calm experienced coaches and managers are needed. (yes I did say that)